Injury mitigating stock guard

ABSTRACT

An injury mitigating stock guard is described. The stock guard includes mutually parallel linear members defining linear pockets therebetween of sufficient size to allow the passage of the hoof of an adult domesticated animal. The linear members include one or more laterally extending flanges that prevent the further passage of the hoof through the bottoms of the pockets to prevent injury.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/249,522, filed on Apr. 10, 2014, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to stock guards, which deter the passage oflivestock while enabling the passage of wheeled vehicles, and inparticular, to stock guards that mitigate the potential for injury toanimals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cattle guards or stock guards have long been known. A cattle guard is adevice that impedes or deters the passage of livestock, while enablingthe passage of vehicles. Cattle guards are typically located where fencelines cross roads, and allow for stock to be confined to defined rangeswithout the necessity of locating a gate where a roadway crosses a fenceline.

Conventionally, cattle guards are provided as an array of mutuallyparallel spaced apart linear members arranged transverse to thedirection of traffic flow. The spacing between the members is chosen todefine inter-member spaces that exceed the maximum dimension of the hoofof an animal. Conventionally, this array of mutually parallel spacedapart linear members is placed above an excavation or vault, whichdefines a space below the local grade level. An animal, typically a cow,upon encountering a cattle guard, will refuse to cross for fear ofplacing its hoof into the deep hole defined by the inter-member spacingand the ditch below.

Conventionally, cattle guards are formed of linear members havingrectangular or triangular cross section, typically fabricated fromtubular steel. These linear members are affixed to a plurality of crossmembers, which themselves are mutually parallel, and which are bolted orset upon a ledge defined by the concrete structure that defines thevault or ditch. For certain conventional cattle guards, triangular orrectangular wings are provided at either end of the linear member array,which bridge the distance between the cattle guard and nearby fenceposts. In certain conventional designs, these wings may be hinged.

Conventional cattle guards have a variety of disadvantages. Whileeffective for domesticated cattle, stock guards will oftentimes notdeter other kinds of animals. In particular, bison and horses, of boththe domesticated and wild varieties, are oftentimes not deterred byconventional stock guards. Additionally, some cattle will still attemptto cross conventional stock guards. Because, the spaces between adjacentlinear members in conventional stock guards exceeds the size of ananimal's hoof, when an animal attempts to cross a conventional stockguard, injury, typically a broken leg, and death is often the result.Additionally, injury can result when an animal does not notice that theconventional cattle guard is there, for example, when it is hidden bybrush, snow or other debris.

Methods have been suggested to provide a safer alternative toconventional stock guards. The “universal cattle guard” available fromOutlaw Industrial, LLC of Globe Arizona(http://www.cattleguard.info/faq.html), uses a plurality of mutuallyparallel spaced about members having a circular cross section, which isplaced at grade, i.e., not above an excavated ditch or vault. While the“universal cattle guard” appears to prevent animal injury, itseffectiveness as an animal deterrent is suspect for a variety ofreasons. For example, because of its open design, debris may accumulatebetween the tubular members from the bottom (e.g., as a result of waterrunning past the structure), thereby filling up the voids between theadjacent tubular members. Additionally, even when this device is clearof debris, animals can see the natural surface of the ground between thetubular members, which decreases the device's effectiveness.

What is needed is a stock guard that prevents injury, but that is aseffective as a deterrent as conventional stock guards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are directed to an injury-reducing stockguard including a plurality of mutually parallel, spaced-apart linearmembers. Each member has a top side, the plurality of which define a topsurface of the stock guard which is substantially parallel to grade overwhich a vehicle may travel. Each member also includes at least onelaterally extending flange disposed in a plane parallel to and below theaforementioned top surface. The at least one laterally extending flangeforms a bottom surface which defines the bottom extent of a pocket alsodefined by two adjacent linear members. The at least one laterallyextending wing also defines a slot in the bottom surface which is sizedsuch that the hoof of an animal cannot pass through, but which doesallow the passage of water and debris.

In another embodiment, each linear member has a hat-like cross sectionwith a rectangular center portion and two laterally extending flanges oneither side of the rectangular center portion, such that adjacent linearmembers together define a pocket, and the mutually facing flanges ofadjacent members define a slot therebetween sized such that the hoof ofan animal cannot pass through. In certain embodiments, the pocket ispainted a dark color, which contrasts with the top surface of the stockguard defined by the top surfaces of the hat-like linear members.

In certain embodiments, the stock guard according to the presentinvention is arranged over a ditch or vault, such that debris and thelike can sluice through the slots at the bottoms of the pockets. Inother embodiments, the stock guard is placed at or near grade, without aditch or vault. In these embodiments, the stock guard may optionallyinclude a first and second transition sections that extend in thedirection of the expected direction of travel, which are inclined towardgrade from a central section having a top surface parallel to grade. Theresult of this arrangement is to provide inclined transition zones forvehicles driving onto and off of the stock guard.

Stock guards according to embodiments of the invention have certainadvantages. For example, stock guards according to embodiments of theinvention mitigate the possibility of injury because they prevent ananimal's hoof from penetrating or extending through the bottom of thestock guard. This enables stock guards according to embodiments of theinvention to used for animals other than cows (e.g., mustangs, bison,etc.), which can be expected to “test” a stock guard. At the same time,the pockets defined by adjacent linear members create sufficientshadowing and abrupt vertical transitions to deter most animals fromcrossing.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be more fully understood by referring to thefollowing Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments in conjunctionwith the Drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a stock guard according to an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a stock guard according to analternative embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an oblique elevated view of a stock guard according to theembodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an oblique elevated view of a stock guard according to theembodiment of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

References throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “a related embodiment,” or similar language mean that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the referred to “embodiment” is included in at least one embodimentof the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in oneembodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout thisspecification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the sameembodiment. It is to be understood that no portion of disclosure, takenon its own and in possible connection with a figure, is intended toprovide a complete description of all features of the invention.

In addition, the following disclosure may describe features of theinvention with reference to corresponding drawings, in which likenumbers represent the same or similar elements wherever possible. In thedrawings, the depicted structural elements are generally not to scale,and certain components are enlarged relative to the other components forpurposes of emphasis and understanding. It is to be understood that nosingle drawing is intended to support a complete description of allfeatures of the invention. In other words, a given drawing is generallydescriptive of only some, and generally not all, features of theinvention. A given drawing and an associated portion of the disclosurecontaining a description referencing such drawing do not, generally,contain all elements of a particular view or all features that can bepresented is this view, for purposes of simplifying the given drawingand discussion, and to direct the discussion to particular elements thatare featured in this drawing. A skilled artisan will recognize that theinvention may possibly be practiced without one or more of the specificfeatures, elements, components, structures, details, or characteristics,or with the use of other methods, components, materials, and so forth.Therefore, although a particular detail of an embodiment of theinvention may not be necessarily shown in each and every drawingdescribing such embodiment, the presence of this detail in the drawingmay be implied unless the context of the description requires otherwise.In other instances, well known structures, details, materials, oroperations may be not shown in a given drawing or described in detail toavoid obscuring aspects of an embodiment of the invention that are beingdiscussed.

The invention is described in preferred embodiments in the followingdescription with reference to the Figures, in which like numbersrepresent the same or similar elements. Reference throughout thisspecification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar languagemeans that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in oneembodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout thisspecification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the sameembodiment.

The described features, structures, or characteristics of the inventionmay be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Inthe following description, numerous specific details are recited toprovide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. oneskilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the inventionmay be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or withother methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances,well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown ordescribed in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a stock guard according to an embodimentof the invention. The stock guard of FIG. 1 includes a plurality ofspaced apart, mutually parallel linear members 105. Linear members 105are arranged in a horizontal plane to support the passage of vehiclesover the top of the plurality of linear members along the indicateddirection of travel 107. The linear members themselves are arranged withtheir long axes transverse to the direction of travel 107.

Each linear member 105 has a central portion having a substantiallyrectangular cross section, with a top surface 110 and a first and secondside surfaces 115, 120, which are substantially vertical. Collectively,the top surfaces 110 of the linear members define a plane such supportsa wheeled vehicle.

Adjacent pairs of linear members 105 define linear pockets 125 boundedin the horizontal direction by first vertical surface of a first linearmember and the facing second vertical surface of an adjacent linearmember. These pockets are sized (in the horizontal direction) such thatthe hoof of an animal (e.g., a cow, horse, bison, etc.) can pass belowan upper plane containing top surfaces 110 into the pocket. In oneembodiment, the inter-member spacing between adjacent linear members,which defines the width of the linear pocket is 4 inches. An exemplaryrange for widths of the pockets is between 2.5 and 5 inches.Additionally, the top surface 110 of each linear member is sufficientlynarrow, again along direction 107, to prevent a hoof of an animal fromcomfortably balancing on surface 110. In one embodiment, the width oftop surface 110 is 2.5 inches. An exemplary range for the width of thetop surface of the linear members is between 2 and 3 inches. Thus, ananimal encountering the stock guard of FIG. 1 will be deterred fromstepping onto the guard for gear that its hoof will fall below the planedefined by the collection of top surfaces 110.

In the event that an animal is not deterred, and steps into a pocket125, the stock guard of FIG. 1 is designed to capture the hoof of theanimal, thereby preventing serious injury. This is accomplished by theprovision of one or more laterally extending flanges 127 that extendfrom the vertical sides 115, 120 of linear members 105. Flanges 127 andlinear members 105 define a linear slot 130, which in the embodiment ofFIG. 1, runs the length of the adjacent linear members. One purpose andadvantage of slot 130 is to allow water and debris to sluice out of thepockets 125. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, each linear member 105 has twoflanges that extend in the horizontal plane to either side of thecentral portion, resulting in a “hat-shaped” cross section for eachlinear member 105. For these configurations, flanges 127 are disposed ina lower plane that is parallel to and below the place defined by aplurality of top surfaces 110. This configuration, however, is exemplaryand not required. Alternative exemplary embodiments may be provided inwhich there is only a single flange per pocket. Additionally, flangesthat are not co-planar, and are not parallel to the top surfaces 110 ofthe linear members are possible, and within the scope of the invention.Additionally, “L”-shaped linear members, and linear members havingtriangular, circular or other cross sectional profiles for the centralportion are all acceptable. All that is necessary is that some safeobstruction is provided that prevents the passage of a hoof through thebottom of pockets 125.

It will be appreciated that the vertical depth of the pockets 125impacts whether an animal is likely to be deterred. In one embodiment,the vertical depth between top surface 110 and flange 127 (i.e., thedepth of pocket 125) is 3 inches. An exemplary range for this dimensionis between 2 and 4 inches. In particular, the depth of pockets 125should be sufficient to prevent an animal from putting part of its hoof(e.g., a heel portion), on a top surface of the linear member, whileputting another part of the same hoof (e.g., a toe portion) on a flangeat the bottom of the pocket 125. This would allow the animal to feelsecure in its footing, and is disadvantageous from a deterrencestandpoint. Additionally, Applicants have discovered that the use ofsharp angles to form the transition between the top surface 110 of thelinear members and the pocket 125 is particularly effective at deterringlivestock form placing their hooves into the pocket. Additionally,Applicant has discovered that by enhancing the visible contrast betweentop surface 110 and the pocket 125, for example, by painting theinterior of pocket 125 with a dark color (e.g., black) and/or paintingtop surface 110 with a light color (e.g., white or bright yellow), thiscontrast can be enhanced. These advantageous embodiments, however, arenot limiting and are not required by the invention.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, linear members 105 are affixed to and abovea plurality of spaced apart, mutually parallel support members 135. Incertain embodiments, the stock guard of FIG. 1 is installed at grade,with support members 135 resting on the ground. In these embodiments,support members 135 define a vertical space of offset which serves tolife the array of linear members 105 off the ground by at least theheight of the support members 135. This has two advantages. First,Applicants have observed that by “floating” the linear members 105 abovethe ground on the support members 135, the linear members will rattle ina noisy fashion when the stock guard is stepped on by cattle. Thisrattle provides additional deterrence to the passage of stock. Second,by providing a space underneath the bottoms of the pockets 125 definedby linear members 105, art area is provided into which debris can bewashed. This prevents debris from accumulating in the pockets 125, whichprevents stock from seeing a surface that looks like the natural surfaceof the ground, which again enhances deterrence.

The stock guard of FIG. 1 further includes transition regions 140,characterized by tapered support members, which support additionallinear members such that the top surfaces of these linear members areinclined at an angle toward the ground. The purpose of transition region140 is to ease the transition of a wheeled vehicle as it transitionsfrom grade onto the stock guard. In certain embodiments, one linearmember 143 is provided at the end of the transition region which istriangular or trapezoidal in cross section.

The stock guard of FIG. 1 further includes triangular wing sections 145arranged at the ends of linear members 105. Triangular wing sections 145are optionally hinged or otherwise rotatable about an axis parallel todirection 107 so that they may be deployed outwardly to bridge any gapbetween the stock guard and a fence line into which the stock guard isinstalled.

FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a stock guard according to analternative embodiment of the invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 2,the basic components of the stock guard are equivalent to those setforth above with respect to FIG. 1, but instead of support members 140resting on the ground (and thereby translating the top, vehicle bearingof the surface up with respect to grade), in the embodiment of FIG. 2,support members 235 are installed over a ditch or cavity 250 defined bya vault 260. In particular, vault 260 includes two vertical walls 255and a floor 257, which collectively define a ditch or cavity 250, whichextends laterally and longitudinally below the linear members 205 of thestock guard. Support members 235 rest on top a shelf, also defined byvault 260, which in certain embodiments is poured concrete, such thatthe top surfaces 210 of linear members 205 are parallel to and flushwith grade.

FIG. 3 is an oblique elevated view of a stock guard according to theembodiment of FIG. 1. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the linear hat-shapedmembers extend in a direction transverse to a direction of travel adistance sufficient for passage of a vehicle. In one embodiment, thelinear extent of the linear members (and therefore the width of thestock guard) is 12 feet. Additionally, as can be seen, the stock guardmay be installed at grade, on the ground, without the need to excavate apit or ditch or pour a concrete vault. In these cases tapered transitionzones facilitate a gradual transition for vehicles from grade, onto thesurface of the stock guard, and off.

FIG. 4 is an oblique elevated view of a stock guard according to theembodiment of FIG. 2. As cart be seen from FIG. 4, the linear hat-shapedmembers extend in a direction transverse to a direction of travel adistance sufficient for passage of a vehicle. In one embodiment, thelinear extent of the linear members (and therefore the width of thestock guard) is 8 feet. Additionally, as can be seen, the stock guardmay be over an excavated ditch or pit defined, for example, by a pouredconcrete vault. In these cases tapered the top surface of the stockguard is maintained at grade.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated in detail, it should be apparent that modifications andadaptations to those embodiments may occur to one skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the present invention as set forthin the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A stock guard comprising a plurality of mutuallyparallel, spaced apart linear members, each linear member having a flat,horizontal top surface, two side surfaces extending downwardly from thetop surface, and two lateral flanges extending outwardly from the sidesurfaces such that each linear member has a hat-shaped cross section,each linear member having a long axis running perpendicularly to thehat-shaped cross section; wherein, the linear members are arranged suchthat their flat, horizontal top surfaces lie in a plane, mutually facingside surfaces of adjacent linear members define downwardly extendingpockets, and horizontal flanges of adjacent linear members define linearslots having a long axis parallel to the long axis of the linear membersin the bottoms of said pockets.
 2. The stock guard of claim 1, whereinthe depth of the pockets, defined by distance from the plane containingthe horizontal top surfaces and a place containing horizontal flanges ofadjacent linear members is between 2 and 4 inches.
 3. The stock guard ofclaim 1, wherein the linear members are affixed to and above a pluralityof mutually parallel support members, the support members having longaxes arranged perpendicularly to the long axes of the linear members. 4.The stock guard of claim 3, wherein the support members are in contactwith the ground.
 5. The stock guard of claim 1, wherein the lateralflanges extend horizontally from the side surfaces.
 6. The stock guardof claim 5, wherein mutually facing lateral flanges of adjacent linearmembers are co-planar and define a lower horizontal surface of saidpockets.
 7. The stock guard of claim 1, wherein the spacing betweenmutually facing side surfaces of adjacent linear members is between 2and 5 inches.
 8. The stock guard of claim 1, further including twovehicular transition regions comprising a plurality of mutually parallellinear members, each linear member having a top surface lying in a planesloping from a top plane of the plurality of linear members of claim 1toward the ground.
 9. The stock guard of claim 1 wherein the pocketshave bottom sides that are arranged parallel to and below the top plane.10. The stock guard of claim 9, wherein at least some of the bottomsides of the pockets are co-planar,
 11. The stock guard of claim 1,wherein the pockets are linear pockets having a long axis that isparallel to the long axes of the linear members.
 12. The stock guard ofclaim 1, wherein the linear slots extend substantially entire lengths ofthe linear members to which they are adjacent.
 13. The stock guard ofclaim 1, further including a vault comprising at least two side wallsdefining a trench that extends downwardly, below grade, underneath thelinear members.